Pence is considered a "dark horse" Republican candidate for the 2016 presidential election.<ref>[http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/10/pence-and-the-revolution-five-reasons-he-might-be-the-2016-dark-horse-to-watch/ ''The Daily Caller'', "Pence and The Revolution: Five reasons he might be the 2016 dark horse to watch," accessed September 12, 2013]</ref>

Pence was sworn into office on January 14, 2013, and his term will expire in January of 2017.

From 2001 to 2013, Pence served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives. As a congressman, he maintained a record of staunch opposition to tax hikes and federal health care reform as outlined under the Affordable Care Act. His final year in the U.S. House, Pence was rated a "far-right Republican leader" based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack.[1]

Before entering politics, Pence built a resume covering a wide array of professions. His background includes working as an admissions counselor at his alma mater, Hanover College, as well as an attorney and a talk show host.[2]

An analysis of Republican governors by Nate Silver of the New York Times in April 2013 ranked Pence as the 2nd most conservative governor in the country.[3]

Pence will come up for re-election for the first time in November of 2016. He has not yet stated whether he intends to seek another term in the governorship.

Biography

Pence was born in Columbus, Indiana, graduated from Hanover College in 1981 and earned his J.D. from Indiana University School of Law in 1986.[4]

After graduating from Hanover, Pence worked as an admissions counselor at the college until 1983. He then went to law school and worked as a private practice attorney from 1986 to 1990. From 1991 to 1994 he served as President of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation and was a talk show host on Network Indiana from 1994 to 2000.[2]

Political career

Indiana Governor (2013-Present)

Issues

Veto override

On June 19, 2013, the Indiana legislature overturned Pence's veto of a bill that would retroactively authorize a local tax. Lawmakers overrode the governor's veto in a 68-23 vote in the House and 34-12 vote in the Senate[6] With an interesting twist, Republican legislators overwhelmingly voted against the Republican Governor, while most Democrats supported his veto.[7] One of three bills vetoed by Pence during the session, the Jackson-Pulaski tax fix addressed a 15 year old county income tax which had been imposed to fund the construction of jail facilities with the stipulation that the tax be lowered by 1% after the first several years. The reduction was not implemented and thus county residents paid an additional 1% tax that they were legally not required to pay. The bill that was passed by a huge majority of legislatures and subsequently vetoed by Pence, would allow that money to be kept and not returned to the tax payers as would have otherwise been necessary.[8]

Pence’s communications director Christy Denault, said that he “stands by his veto, and regrets that it was not upheld by the Indiana General Assembly today. While this bill contained some positive provisions, the Governor believes that when Hoosiers pay taxes that are not owed, they should be offered relief. Hoosiers can be assured that Governor Pence and his administration will continue to put taxpayers first.”[7] Republicans argued that the veto itself would be unfair for taxpayers as state tax payers would have to make up the money spent on calculating refunds to the tax payers in Jackson and Pulaski counties. The bill also included tax breaks and benefits for veterans and veteran families that many legislators were unwilling to see vetoed. “Sustaining this veto will be a tax increase on the innocent spouses of disabled (and) deceased veterans, a tax increase through no fault of their own,” said SenatorBrandt Hershman (R-7). “Sustaining the veto will be a vote against the innocent taxpayers in Pulaski and Jackson counties who still regardless of our action here ... have to fund a jail.”[7]

Tax reform

Pence made tax reform, namely a 10 percent income-tax rate cut, a priority for 2013.[9] While he did not get the 10 percent cut he advocated, Pence did accomplish his goal of cutting state taxes. Legislators cut the income tax by 5 percent and also killed the death tax. Speaker of the HouseBrian Bosma (R) said of the deal, “What we ended up doing was putting together a collective tax package that results in the largest tax cut in our state’s history, about $1.1 billion dollars.”[10]

Issues

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Pence voted against the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[11]

Controversies

Obamacare and 9/11

During a June 2012 GOP House meeting, Pence was reported to have compared the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on "Obamacare" to the terrorist attacks of September 11. Pence immediately apologized, stating, "My remarks at the Republican Conference following the Supreme Court decision were thoughtless. I certainly did not intend to minimize any tragedy our nation has faced and I apologize."[12]

Analysis

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Pence paid his congressional staff a total of $1,122,773 in 2011. He ranked 9th on the list of the highest paid Republican representative staff salaries and ranked 49th overall of the highest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Indiana ranked 35th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[13]

Staff bonuses

According to an analysis by CNN, Pence was one of nearly 25 percent of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. Pence's staff was given an apparent $32,909.25 in bonus money.[14]

2011 Net worth

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Pence's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $11,015 and $169,000. That averages to $90,007.50, which was lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[15]

Issue positions

Economic development:

In terms of economic development, Pence said he would seek to make the system more proactive. "We would identify personnel in the IEDC with essentially an investment background that we would recruit and say, 'We want you to go to each community in this state and evaluate the assets on the ground. And we want you to meet with business leaders,'" he stated.[22]

Health Insurance:

In a letter to Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) in August 2012, Pence said that if elected governor he would not set up a health insurance exchange in Indiana, leaving the job to the federal government instead. “I believe Indiana should take no part in this deeply flawed health care bureaucracy,” he stated.[23]

Jobs:

The major issue of the 2012 campaign was jobs, with each candidate detailing their plan to get citizens back to work. Pence said he would create a "jobs Cabinet" made up of business leaders and investment specialists that would support startup businesses.[24]

2010

U.S. House of Representatives, Indiana's 6th Congressional District, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Republican

Mike PenceIncumbent

66.6%

126,027

Democratic

Barry Welsh

29.9%

56,647

Libertarian

Talmage "T.J" Thompson, Jr.

3.5%

6,635

Total Votes

189,309

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Pence is available dating back to 2012. Based on available campaign finance records, Pence raised a total of $14,841,352 during that time period. This information was last updated on July 10, 2013.[27]

Mike Pence's Campaign Contribution History

Year

Office

Result

Contributions

2012

Governor of Indiana

$14,841,352

Grand Total Raised

$14,841,352

2012

Pence won re-election to the position of Governor of Indiana in 2012. During that election cycle, Pence raised a total of $14,841,352.